Those shopping for essentials will now only be permitted to leave once every three days…

Earlier in April, the Supreme Committee of Crisis and Disaster Management announced that anybody wishing to leave their house for urgent shopping or other emergencies during the 24-hour National Disinfection Programme movement restrictions, would have to obtain a permit before leaving their home.

Dubai Police have now updated the rules and restrictions of the personal movement permits (non-work-related), to the effect that now you will only be able to apply for essential grocery or pharmacy shopping, once every three days.

The permits are easily applied for online, all you have to do is fill in a few identification details and outline the reason for leaving your home.

Confirmation of approval (or otherwise) is usually sent through shortly afterwards by SMS.

In addition, trips to ATMs for the purpose of cash withdrawal/deposit, will now only be authorised once every five days.

It is advised to hold onto your shopping receipts as proof that you were out buying essentials, if this is the movement permit that you applied for.

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Permits issued for emergencies and work requirements are not affected.

On Tuesday we received news that restaurants, bars and other entertainment venues will remain closed until further notice, so the permit system is likely to stay in place for some time yet.

Again these measures are all in place for our safety, to minimise the risk of Covid-19 infection, and bring the pandemic to an end as quickly as possible.

Supermarket, pharmacy, and food delivery services are still running as normal so the advice remains to use one of the many delivery services where you can.

There are many apps and websites such as Deliveroo that you can use to order from, as well as companies taking requests over the phone.

Images: Unsplash